New to plants :)

Hi friends

I have had my planted tank set up for about a year now. I have a 150L tank with a fluval U3 pump. My fish are thriving, I regularly test the water, do changes and feel comfortable that I’ve got caring for the fish under control.

However I’ve found that Java Ferns seem to be the only plants I can rely on to thrive in my tank. I’ve tried Amazon swords and Anubias nana but they just melted and I had to dispose of them.

I would like some variety in my tanks but does anyone know why I’m struggling with anything but Java ferns? Is it something to do with the water parameters? I test my tank weekly using my aquarium lab kit, and I have an air pump as my danios love it. The tank is sand over a layer of tetra active substrate. Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance

Might be lighting, especially if the tank is tall. Don't need an expensive plant light, but something that penetrates the water is needed for some plants. Java fern doesn't need much in terms of lighting or extra ferts, which makes it a great beginner plant, but then again, anubius doesn't need high light either.

Amazon swords tend to be greedy root feeders, so will sometimes fail if not given root tabs. But you said it's over a layer of a planted substrate? Hmmm, that's odd then!

I've been lucky when it comes to my planted tanks, and I haven't had to learn in depth about lighting/ferts, but luckily we have people who are a lot more knowledgeable than me here! If you can add what kind of light you have on the tank, and ideally, whether your water is soft or hard (the GH and KH) I'm sure people like @Wills and @Stan510 would be able to give you a lot more info! I highly recommend checking out their journal threads too, if you want some inspiration!

Agree it may be the light. Can you provide data on the light you have, spectrum, type, etc.?

I went to the Tetra site to see just what this "natural substrate" is, and found nothing helpful. They make claims about bacteria and water flow and encouraging plants to root, but there is nothing to indicate what is in this stuff to do this. I suspect like most all "plant" substrates it is not of much if any value. I used Flourite some years ago, and found it the same, worthless.

That leads to my next comment, fertilizer. Are you using any? Amazon swords will thrive with substrate tabs, like Seachem's Flourish Tabs. One next to the plant roots replaced every 3-4 months does wonders.

Thank you both. I have an LED light but I’ve had it for a while, used it on a smaller tank and I can’t remember the specifics. It does have a blue and white light setting amoungst others but perhaps it’s just not putting out enough for the tank. I don’t have a light fitting in my tank so I’ve got it on suction cups currently under my lid.

I’ve never tried root tabs, do you have any recommendations for a solid brand to try?

Thanks again!

FredTheBristlenose said:

Thank you both. I have an LED light but I’ve had it for a while, used it on a smaller tank and I can’t remember the specifics. It does have a blue and white light setting amoungst others but perhaps it’s just not putting out enough for the tank. I don’t have a light fitting in my tank so I’ve got it on suction cups currently under my lid.

I’ve never tried root tabs, do you have any recommendations for a solid brand to try?

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

Seachem Flourish Tabs are in my experience of 12 years excellent. I added them to a tank of swords that were "OK" and the plants literally went berserk. Over a few months they sent out inflorescences, not just one from each plant but sometimes two and even three at the same time. Dozens of adventitious plants developed; you won't get flowers when these plants are grown emersed,* but plantlets will develop at the nodules of the inflorescence.

* there is one exception, the species Echinodorus major, that will sometimes flower when grown totally submersed. I had my plant of this species flower twice in 8 or 9 years. Photos attached are of the 2017 flowers and the 2019 flowers, and the plant (at the right side) in my 40g tank after I moved three years ago. With its wavy-edged leaves, this is one of my favourite species in this genus.